In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, Hockey Alberta is proud to share stories from across the province’s hockey community.
Alberta has produced several great Asian-Canadian hockey players, a handful of whom have reached the pinnacle of the sport by getting to the professional ranks or playing at an international level.
Hockey Alberta is going to highlight these athletes by taking a deep dive into their careers.
LARRY KWONG
Trailblazer Larry Kwong was originally born in Vernon, B.C. in 1923, to a Chinese-Canadian mother and a Chinese immigrant father. At a young age he found his way to the ice playing with the Vernon Hydrophones and Trail Smoke Eaters. His connection to Alberta came when he was stationed in Red Deer due to his basic military training over the course of World War II, playing for the army’s Red Deer Wheelers.
In 1946 he was extended a try-out invitation by the New York Rangers, playing mostly with the New York Rovers, the Rangers farm team. On March 13, 1948, Kwong dressed in his first NHL game. Playing in only one shift he became the first player of Asian heritage and the first person of colour to play in the NHL. Due to his contributions to the sport in the province, Kwong was inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.
LARRY KWONG’S STORY >
STEVE TSUJIURA
After being drafted in the tenth round of the 1981 National Hockey League Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, Coaldale’s Steve Tsujiura never made the NHL … but that doesn’t mean his impact on the sport is lessened. Born to Japanese-Canadian parents, Tsujiura got his start in the sport by skating at the outdoor rink and through the streets of Coaldale. His journey took him through Lethbridge and Taber to the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers in 1978. For three consecutive seasons Tsujiura led the Tigers in points, capping his junior career with an impressive 389 points in 243 games. Along the way, he was named WHL Player of the Year (1981), Most Sportsmanlike Player (1980, 1981) and a WHL Second All-Star (1981).
He spent his professional career in the American Hockey League, mostly with the Maine Mariners. He then went overseas and played in Italy and Switzerland before eventually suiting up for Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano against NHL competition.
STEVE TSUJIRA’S STORY >
KASSY BETINOL
Okotok’s Kassy Betinol was a fixture with Team Alberta, playing in the 2018 National Women’s U18 Championship as well as the 2019 Canada Winter Games. She went onto playing Division I hockey at the NCAA level with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, where she played two seasons before moving to play with Colgate University. Betinol had the opportunity to suit up for China at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. She played in four games, scoring a goal. She has played for China at various other international events and is continuing her playing career at the University of British Columbia while continuing to inspire both female and Asian-Canadian athletes.
KASSY BETINOL’S STORY >
DEVIN SETOGUCHI
Devin Setoguchi was born in Taber, as a fourth generation Japanese-Canadian. He played one season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, before moving onto the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades and the Prince George Cougars. He played in 255 career games, registering 118 goals and 243 points with the Blades and Cougars, with his play allowing him to get selected in the first round, eighth overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2005 NHL Draft. Setoguchi played four seasons for the Sharks, as well as one season with their farm team in Worchester. He went on to play for the Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames and Los Angeles Kings. He also spent time in Switzerland and Germany, playing for HC Davos and Adler Mannheim.
Setoguchi played in 516 NHL games, scoring 131 goals, and adding 130 assists for 261 points. He also suited up in 53 playoff games, finishing with 25 points. The Taber native also represented Canada on the international stage, winning a silver medal with Canada Pacific at the World U17 Hockey Challenge, and a gold and silver medal at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament and World U18 Hockey Championships.
MATT DUMBA
Former Team Alberta alumnus and current NHL defenceman Matt Dumba grew up in Regina but moved to Calgary at a young age. Dumba who comes from Filipino, Romanian, and German descent, played his minor hockey in Calgary with the Crowchild Minor Hockey Association, while also spending time with the Edge Mountaineers on their prep team.
Dumba was selected by the Red Deer Rebels in the 2009 WHL Draft and won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s rookie of the year. He played 225 games with the Rebels and Portland Winterhawks and was drafted seventh overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2012 NHL Draft. With numerous accolades to his name including gold medals at the World Championships and Hlinka-Gretzky, bronze at the World U18 Championships and winner of the King Clancy Trophy as the NHL’s Humanitarian of the Year in the 2019-20 season, Dumba has played in nearly 700 games with the Wild, Arizona Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning, putting up 248 points.
CENTRE ICE EPISODE EIGHT FEATURING MATT AND CHARLE DUMBA >
SPENCER AND PARKER FOO
Brothers Spencer and Parker Foo mirror each other’s hockey careers. They both grew up in Edmonton, coming from Chinese-Canadian descent. Both went through the Canadian Athletic Club system in Edmonton, before moving onto the AJHL. Spencer, who is four years older than Parker, went to Union College in the NCAA playing three seasons there between 2014-2017 before signing with the Calgary Flames. He played in four games with the Flames, scoring two goals before spending another two seasons in Stockton with the Flames AHL affiliate team. He played 129 games with the club, grabbing 77 points. He also spent one season with the Henderson Silver Knights playing in 60 games. Parker played went to Union College beginning in the 2017-18 season and was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017 in the fifth round. Both Foo brothers play for the Kunlun Red Star and have represented China at various international tournaments, including the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
TYLER WONG
Tyler Wong went through the Cochrane Minor Hockey Association’s program, eventually finding his way onto the U15 AAA Airdrie Xtreme, U16 AAA AC Avalanche and the formerly branded U18 UFA Bisons (now known as Airdrie CFR Bisons). Wong played at the Alberta Cup in 2010-11 and for Team Alberta in 2011-12 where he scored one goal and added four points. He went onto the Western Hockey League, spending his entire five-year career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, including two seasons as the team captain where he scored 43 and 51 goals respectively, with his best offensive output coming in the 2016-17 season where he had 109 points in 69 games. He was also named the CHL’s Humanitarian of the Year.
His illustrious junior career landed him in the Vegas Golden Knights system, where Wong holds the distinction of scoring the first goal in Vegas team history in a preseason victory over the Vancouver Canucks. He spent the rest of his North American career in the AHL and ECHL with the Chicago Wolves and Quad City Mallards before making his way to the KHL with the Kunlun Red Star where he’s spent the past five seasons. Wong, who comes from a Chinese background, played for China at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, scoring a goal in four games. His brother, Austin, who was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the seventh round in 2018, has since joined him with the Red Star after playing in the AJHL and in the NCAA with Harvard.
TARO AND AKITO HIROSE
Growing up in Calgary, Taro and Akito Hirose fell in love with the game of hockey through the Calgary Flames. The two Japanese-Canadian brothers went through the Blackfoot Minor Hockey Association, while also playing for various Edge team’s. Both brothers played separately at the Alberta Cup with Team Calgary North.
The duo went on to play Junior A which landed them NCAA offers. Taro, who’s the older of the two brothers by two years, went to Michigan State, where he saw an increase in points every season climaxing in a 50-point output in 36 games his final season. He was signed by the Detroit Red Wings at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season and has spent time with both the big club and with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Akito landed at Minnesota State University, playing three before signing with the Vancouver Canucks last season. He’s gotten into 10 career NHL games and played in 33 AHL games with Abbotsford where he finished the season with two points.
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